


He's My Half-Brother, Technically

by finnemoreshusband



Category: Cabin Pressure, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Cabinlock, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-12
Updated: 2013-02-12
Packaged: 2017-11-29 01:50:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/681353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finnemoreshusband/pseuds/finnemoreshusband
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock catches wind of some advice his older brother offered to his younger.  And although he'd jump at any chance to oppose Mycroft, that's not what drives him to offer his own advice to Martin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He's My Half-Brother, Technically

**Author's Note:**

> This is just something I wrote after last week's episode (Xinzhou). It was 3 am and I may have been a bit drunk. I haven't cleaned it up or anything and it's kind of all over the place so I apologise.

"John!" Sherlock called out as he clamoured up the steps. Being inside didn't prompt him to lower his voice. "I need to use your phone."

John quickly appeared out of the kitchen. "I didn't think you'd be home until later. There's-"

"Phone, John."

John gave a short, frustrated sigh. "What's wrong with yours?"

"Dead. Please, John, your phone."

"Wow, a 'please'? What's so important?" He pulled his phone out of his pocket, momentarily forgetting what he'd wanted to tell Sherlock before he got distracted.

"I need to speak with my brother."

"Mycroft? You were just with him..."

"Not Mycroft. Martin."

John frowned in confusion. "Martin? You never mentioned a brother named Martin."

"He's my half-brother, technically, but it doesn't make much difference." Sherlock lifted the phone to his ear but John pulled it away. "What are you doing?"

"Does Martin have the same last name as you?"

"No. Why does that matter?"

"It doesn't I just..." His glance strayed toward the kitchen. "Why do you need to talk to him?"

Sherlock huffed, temporarily holding the phone at his side as he explained. "Martin is about to make a mistake, and I need to try and talk him out of it."

"What's he going to do?"

"It's not what he's going to do, it's what he's not going to do. Mycroft, nosey older brother that he is, keeps tabs on Martin."

"Not really surprising," John said.

Sherlock nodded and continued. "The company Martin works for is going under. Mycroft abducted him and offered him assistance, but Martin turned him down."

"And you don't think he should have?"

"No, of course he should have. Martin doesn't want to rely on our eldest brother any more than I do. He was going to apply for another job. He's a pilot, and there's a company going international, meaning they're going to be looking for new pilots."

John nodded slowly. "And Mycroft told him he didn't have a chance with these people."

"How did you know that?"

"Just a guess. So... what do you need to talk to him about?"

"Applying with this other company, obviously. Mycroft talked him out of it. I might not be able to change Martin's mind if this is what he thinks is best, but he does need someone to tell him what a fool Mycroft is. Always underestimating him."

"And you... you think he could do it?" John glanced back to the kitchen, but thankfully Sherlock didn't seem to notice.

"Of course he can. All his life, he's had people telling him he wasn't good enough, that he couldn't do this, or that he couldn't be that. By the time I found out I even had a younger brother, he was convinced that he could never do anything. And yet he's been living his dream for almost five years and all of a sudden, because of Mycroft," Sherlock hisses the name, "he's ready to give it all up."

John smirked. "You're proud of him. For achieving his dream."

"What?"

"Don't play dumb, Sherlock, I can always see through it. You're proud of your brother. You care about him."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"He's your family, and you care."

"I do not."

John shook his head. "Sherlock."

Sherlock raised his eyebrows. "John."

"Er..." a third voice came from the kitchen as the owner cautiously stepped out, nervously grasping his pilot hat.

Sherlock looked up at Martin, then back at John. "Why didn't you tell me he was here?"

"I tried but you insisted I give you the phone. You distracted me and..."

"You really think I should apply?" Martin asked. "I don't mean to interrupt, I'm sorry, but... you actually think I might have a chance?"

Sherlock raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't you?"

"Well, the number of tries it took to get my license is enough to make them toss my name into the bin right away. Then there's the nervousness, the shortness, and the fact that even with my uniform on, nobody actually believes I'm a pilot."

"But you are," Sherlock argued. "You are a pilot and you want to continue being a pilot, don't you?"

"More than anything."

"Then you have to apply. If you don't, then you will lose everything you've worked for. Martin, you are nervous and clumsy, but you're dedicated and you are good at what you do."

"But Mycroft,"

"Mycroft is wrong."

"Thank you." Martin said, looking down and shifting awkwardly.

A silence filled the room until John broke it. "Should I make some more tea?"

Martin shook his head. "Not for me, thanks. I should get going. I've got a flight tomorrow. It was nice to meet you, John."

"You, too," John said as he watched Martin make his way to the door. "Wait, just one thing. Why didn't you tell me you were Sherlock's brother?"

"What?" Sherlock asked. "What did you tell him?"

Martin grimaced. "I... um, I told him you'd worked a case for me a while ago, and that I needed your help again. I didn't know... well I didn't know if you'd mentioned me to him..."

"You thought I'd be embarrassed." Sherlock deduced. "I've never been embarrassed of you. I can't speak for the rest of the family, but everyone knows how I feel about them."

"Right." Martin let a small smile grace his lips. "I really do need to get going, though. I'll, er... I'll let you know how things go?"

"Good." Sherlock sherlock said with a nod.

Martin nodded back and quickly left 221B.

"I don't think you realise what a fantastic actor you'd make." John said when he was sure Martin was out of the building.

Sherlock strode into the kitchen, picking up Martin's half-finished cup of tea and taking a sip. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Just stop it," John teased as he followed him. "You knew he was in here the whole time. You could have made that phone call any time. But you explained all that to me so that he would hear."

Sherlock let them stand in silence for a minute before answering. "It's easier to believe things like that if they're overheard in conversation. Saying them to someone's face causes doubt."

John sat and just shook his head in disbelief. "Why did you never mention him to me?"

"Slipped my mind." Sherlock continued when John's challenging glare didn't let up. "Martin isn't always comfortable being associated with our family. Someone finds out he's part of the Holmes line and they either begin to expect too much of him or immediately see him a disappointment. I only told you when I came in because I'd expected he'd told you already. I thought your acting skills had improved when you didn't know I had a second brother."

"You do care about him."

"I respect him."

"Why?"

"He devotes his life to his work. We may only be half-brothers, but we're more alike than anyone would guess. I gave up all other career paths to be a consulting detective; I don't get paid to do it; we only make any money when you accept payment, I just do it because it's what keeps me going. Among other recent additions to my life. Martin had multiple opportunities to get into other fields, but he wouldn't have them. He doesn't get paid either."

"You two are obsessive."

"Yes. And then there's his side business. He doesn't make a lot, but he supports himself. Everything he has, he got himself. While Mycroft just throws his name around and everyone does as he says. As much as I loathe admitting it, sometimes I need that for my work. But Martin doesn't."

"You... envy him."

"You're reaching, John."

"I am not. You envy him because he can be self-sufficient."

"No, it's because he doesn't see the need to fit in with everyone else. He's different, but he doesn't let anything get in the way of the life he wants. Well," Sherlock decided to rephrase, "sometimes he gets a little down on himself, but he makes his own decisions."

"Because you're always there to counter everyone's low opinion of him?"

"The person with the lowest opinion of Martin is himself," Sherlock explained. "There has to be some sort of contrast for him to be able to keep going."

John gave a small smile. "Were you two close? After you found him?"

A miniscule nod. "Yes. But, as I said, the relationship he has with the rest of the family is strained. I don't like to force contact on him. Our relationship may be distant, but that doesn't weaken it."

John breathed a heavy breath. "Well. Now that you've saved the day, how about we go get dinner?"


End file.
